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Friday, March 21, 2014

It's 3rd Friday Art Walk night in the U
District, but first! Two of my favourite professors from Cornish days
of yore are having a dual exhibition!

Preston Wadley kicked my
ass in the most supportive and inspiring of ways in both photography
and drawing classes during college. Tonight he's unveiling a two new
series of photographs: portraits featuring the cloaked countenances of
some of the characters who haunt the Cornish College of the Arts campus, and a fascinating
set of graphics and textures intermingled with bits of humanity and
pieces of nature. Also displayed are a couple of photographs encased in
objects, a technique that lends a sort of tangible permanence to
feelings of nostalgia.

Preston Wadley @ Cornish

Robert Campbell is one of the most
patient and knowledgeable humans I have ever met. I had the fortune to
have him as my video and Photoshop instructor, and this eve he's created
a series of videoscapes, collages of imagery and movement that subtly
shift as you watch them. I captured a few stills to portray their
transformation over a handful of minutes. I wasn't able to see much of
his extended video piece, since the small room was packed, but I'll be
back later this month for a longer look.

Robert Campbell @ Cornish

It was fantastic to
catch up with Preston and Bob and a whole host of other Cornish faculty,
students and alumni, but it's on to the U District art walk! I arrive
toward the end of the evening, so I only have the chance to catch a
couple shows, but BC Surf + Sport and Gargoyles have excellent work,
as always.

BC Surf is hosting a colourful collection of work
by artists Ian Block, Shogo, and Raine Frederickson. The colours and
textures are playful, and the imagery is an entertaining mix of pop
culture parodies, intricate monsters, and technicolour comics.

BC Surf + Sport

Just up the street, Gargoyles is hosting "Marvels of the Muse" brand new work by Jeffrey Shaw.
Jeffrey playfully pairs elements of Alice in Wonderland (the March Hare
makes a couple of appearances) with symbols and deities from Egyptian
mythology. Included are paintings, giclee prints on brushed steel, and
what appears to be a candy-coated coterie of sculpted scarabs and
creatures from the sea.